Milk Plus Tea
by ms. tomato
Summary: Meeting with email buddies is one thing, but playing Prince Charming in the Namimori Annual drama performance? Baseball player and many other things by day, hitman by night. The rain guardian's got a lot on his plate. 80xOC
1. Cup 1: Hello?

**Hi readers. :D**

**I just had the sudden urge to write this fic... :I Hahaha.**

**Anyways, I don't own KHR or any of its characters. I only own my OC, which you will meet at the end of this page. :D**

**I shall not bother you further, now, please enjoy! :D**

* * *

Tick. Tack. Tick. Tack.

The sound of dancing fingers tapping on keys created a rhythm in the quiet air.

Tick. Tack. Tick. Tack.

The boy was so used to hearing this sound, it didn't bother him anymore. He was not really into surfing the internet or emailing, until the past week. After getting into a social networking website and getting this random email buddy, he just couldn't stop. It became part of his regular routine. He would squeeze sending the reply to his email buddy in between coming home from baseball practice and before washing up and dinner. It only took a few minutes of his time anyway…

With a few more beatless taps, he hit the "enter" key and sent the non-tangible letter and proceeded to the bathroom. His father wouldn't want him to be all sweaty and smelly during dinner.

_I'd like to meet you too. Haha. It would be really fun if we could have this conversation in person. Here's my number. It would be more convenient if you had it. Hope to see you soon, ne, Masaki-san?_

**xxx**

He ruffled his fingers through his wet hair with a towel. He began thinking about his new friend. He really didn't know what hit him. Every day, he would await that person's reply, not caring whether it made sense or not. It was interesting, this person, himself, and the whole thing all together. Takeshi smiled to himself while going down the stairs to have dinner with his old man.

What he didn't know was, from this point on, things are going to get even more interesting.

"Haa. That curry was so good." Takeshi said to himself, while patting his stomach, "I'm so full." His hand turned the knob and closed the door to his room. Today was a Friday night, which meant that he didn't need to rush with his homework. He can always ask Gokudera to help him anyways, even if the silver-haired boy might be annoyed. Takeshi was sure the boy would agree if Tsuna would be in their little study group. The baseball nut smirked to himself at his 'sly' plan.

He lied down on his bed, and bounced a little from his weight. Talking about weight, maybe he needed to jog off tonight's calories… He turned to his side table, took his cellphone, and flipped it often. He really wasn't expecting any messages, unless the 10th had any new mafia games for him to play.

"1 NEW MESSAGE," the screen read.

He pressed the button in the center. It was from an unknown number.

"_Yamamoto-san? It's Masaki-san. Hi."_ Was written on the lighted screen of his cellphone. The boy's eyes widened. Who knew that the boy whose surname was Masaki opens his online mailbox so often?

The two called each other by their surnames to be comfortable with each other and not giveaway their identity. Or much of it, at least.

Hours had already passed, and Takeshi was still exchanging messages with Masaki. It was less boring, now that responses came in an interval of only minutes. He hadn't noticed that all of his homework was still undone.

His eyes darted towards the upper right corner of his cellphone's screen_. 9:30 _

Then it hit him.

"Oh shit! I still have a ton homework!" Takeshi exclaimed, quickly getting up from his bed and started taking his textbooks out. He started with English, since it was the least tiring, or so he thought.

He tapped his pen on his desk. He seemed to be stuck on question number 5.

He, Yamamoto Takeshi, 17, Rain Guardian of the Vongola, wielder of the Shigure Souen style, Namimori's ace baseball player, could not answer question number 5.

It seemed like an incredibly ironic thought. But who could blame him for not knowing what _mazuke_ was in English? He also left his Japanese-English dictionary in his locker… What luck.

His sighing and train of negative thoughts was cut short with the buzzing of his phone. He had the brightest idea ever, while texting in his reply. He asked his friend what _mazuke_ was in English. True enough, Masaki replied almost instantly.

"_Eyelashes. Hey, don't tell me you're doing question number 5?? O_O|||"_

Eh? Yamamoto smiled to himself in amusement. He went to Namimori High too… Turns out, Masaki was multitasking, and Yamamoto was keeping him awake, keeping him away from the boredom that is called 'homework.' Having him as a text-buddy was not bad. Masaki happened to be a genius when it came to English and grammar. Yamamoto had his homework done in no time.

"_Saa.. Knowing that you're from Namimori High makes me really curious about your identity. Won't you tell me your name?"_ The callous fingers texted.

"_No. Haha. I guess you'll just have to meet me to know who I am. It's more fun that way, isn't it?" _Came the reply.

"_You should be free tomorrow right? It's Saturday. Can we meet at Takesushi? You know, the sushi restaurant a few blocks from school." _Yamamoto waited in anticipation for the reply. It took unusually long though. He kept glancing at the time displayed on his phone. Five minutes, ten minutes… Nothing. He thought that maybe this Masaki person was really girl, and not a guy. Maybe she was uncomfortable about meeting him because she thought he was a perverted old man. (Which he was totally not, by the way.) Or maybe she was a part of his stalking fan club (not that he hated them, he actually thought that they were a bunch of really energetic girls, and nothing more) and she might have passed out from hyperventilation. Or worse, it might be an okama who passed out from hyperventilation.

"_Sorry, I took a shower. I know, I know. See you."_ The message came when the baseball player was about to drift to sleep. Maybe all his assumptions were wrong. "Okay." He whispered, too sleepy to send a reply.

**Zzz...**

It was a wonderful morning, and Takeshi was doing a wonderful job waiting on tables and helping his dad out at their restaurant. It amazed him that he hadn't missed any orders yet, when all he thought about was about meeting his faceless friend. He had also noticed that there was no discussed meeting time. Oh well, he'd be there all day anyway?

It was already noon, and all he could see on his phone was the wallpaper photo of him and the other Vongola guardians. Maybe Masaki wasn't showing up after all.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

As if on cue, his phone started buzzing for the first time that day. He delivered the last batch of sashimi to a table, and he checked his phone in the kitchen. It wasn't like his father was going to mind anyway…

"_I'm here already. __"_ He had been awaiting those words. Now, how to know which customer was Masaki?

"Takeshi! What are you doing in here with your cellphone?" Tsuyoshi scolded, spotting his son standing idly. "Take these to table three and four," he pointed to the already finished plates of California Maki.

"Hai." He took the plates and headed out. On the process of doing his job, he was looking out for 'Masaki candidates.'

One table had a middle-aged couple. "Definitely not," The sushi waiter thought.

There was an old man. "Nope."

Most of the people there were working people, or families. His friend was not likely to bring his parents along to meet an online friend. Most parents never approved of that kind of stuff anyway. Also, most customers never came alone.

There was a girl, about his age, looking through the menu, and she was alone. "Aha! Masaki-san!" he thought. The waiter grinned in victory, and was about to approach the girl.

Until he spotted another teenage guy on the other end of the room. "He could also be Masaki-san..."

"Aha!" Sushi-waiter had another fantastic idea.

He went to the back of the restaurant, where no one would really notice, and sent a message. He figured that the person who whipped open a cellphone would likely be Masaki-san.

He looked out at the two, who turned out to have their cellphones out.

Takeshi silently sighed, in defeat. He didn't want to go out and ask the wrong person. That would be embarrassing. And what if both of them had the surname Masaki? Things might be a mess…

Then he had another brilliant idea. He pressed the green button on his phone. All Takeshi heard was the ringing sound, his mind waiting in anticipation. He secretly wished that Masaki-san was the girl though. It would be more fun that way…

"Hello?" A voice sounded from the other line. Surely the voice was feminine. He turned to see the customer, who had her orange cellphone to her ear, as if to confirm that his hearing was still good.

"Um, hello?" The girl asked a second time, since no one had answered from the other side.

"Hey." Takeshi answered, hovering into the girl's view. "Nice to finally meet you, Masaki-san." He said into the receiver and flashed his lady-killing smile.

"EH? YAMAMOTO-SAN? ACE BASEBALL PLAYER YAMAMOTO TAKESHI??" The girl gaped. Her tone was not really loud; probably to keep her from making a ruckus in public, but it was definitely in surprise, or shock. Yamamoto was a really popular guy in Namimori High…

"Yo," he waved as he snapped his phone shut. It wouldn't be good if he didn't know her name, and she knew his. She looked familiar though, and that was a good thing. That magenta coloured hair that was always tied to one side, and those square glasses, he thought he'd seen them before. He could vaguely remember her photo on one of the club bulletin boards… Masaki, Masaki, Chairman Masaki Hana-san? Oh well, it was worth a try.

"Masaki Hana-san? Chairman of the…" He scratched the back of his head.

"Drama club." Hana regained her composure and finished the sentence for him, to save him for embarrassment, if embarrassment was involved anyway.

Yamamoto Takeshi, of course she knew him. (Or heard of him, at least) Who didn't? He was the student who scored the record-breaking number homeruns, and was all the boys' subject of envy when it came to Valentines' Day. He was also often seen with that Dame-Tsuna and the half-Italian transfer student from a few years back, who was also popular with the ladies.

"So, yeah.." Her voice trailed off, leaving her mouth open at an odd angle. The waiter just smiled dumbly at her.

Ahh, the awkward silence…

* * *

**Yay! Its finished! =D**

**(Ku)Fufufufufu... I feel like making a "Christmas Special" for this fic, or my other fics. :I But I doubt I will have it done in time for the actual Christmas day. Oh well. :D**

**Please do review! It puts me on 'dying will mode' (if that ever does exist in real life) and write the next chapter as if I were to die. :D In short, it makes me update.  
**

**Go on,don't be shy. Click the green colored words at the center of this page. Go on, you know you want to. :D**

**ALSO! Do point out any grammatical blunders or typos. :) It be much appreciated.**


	2. Cup 2: Cooked

**Happy new year guys! Well whaddaya know?! its 2010! *woot woot***

**Anyway, I did this while I was supposed to cram my homework before school opens. :D**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Cup 2: Cooked**

The girl's eyes returned to the menu, thinking of what she could order. She was taking quite a while, muttering an occasional "Erm.." and "Uhh…" while the waiter, well, waited.

"What would you recommend?" Hana asked in defeat. She wasn't very familiar with sushi, despite being Japanese, nor did she really enjoy the taste of raw fish topped on a ball of rice and wrapped in dried sea grass…

"Tuna's one of our most popular ones," Takeshi pointed at the photo on the menu that showed rectangular red strips of fish, "And salmon," He flipped the page and pointed to an orange version of the previous photo.

The waiter noted the slight disgust that was on the customer's face. It wasn't exactly good news to the Takesushi.

"How about something—" Hana paused for a moment, "_cooked?_" She gave a sheepish smile. It was kind of embarrassing to be Japanese and not like Japanese food…

"_Ah, so she's that kind of customer…"_ Takeshi thought. "We have California Maki rolls and onigiri," he said with a smile on his face. (Waiters: Service with a smile :D)

The girl nodded, "I'll have onigiri and green tea please," she said politely, closed the menu, and handed it to the waiter, smiling back at him.

Takeshi went to the kitchen and told his dad what to prepare. "You go ahead and prepare the tea," Tsuyoshi instructed, "it's on the top left cupboard." The old man's hands were too busy shaping rice into triangular shapes at the moment…

The waiter reappeared in the scene, with a tray containing a teapot, teacup, and a plate with a row of three onigiris. Before approaching her table, be observed her movements. In the girl's hand was a stack of paper, about a centimeter thick, and on her other was a green marker. It looked like she was reading, as the back tip of the marker glided across the paper, a line after another, and she would occasionally stop and jot things down. He placed the food on Hana's table, careful not to spill anything. She raised her head for a moment, muttered a thanks, smiled, and went back to work.

Saturdays were as busy as ever in the sushi restaurant, especially in the afternoons. Perhaps people were more free at that time? As the sky grew darker, the people left one after another. Except the girl with the stack of paper. She had finished her onigiri, but there was still some tea left in her cup.

It was about time for the Takesushi to close. _"Gee, I'd hate to bother her, but here goes nothing…"_ Takeshi walked to her table, "Ano, Miss, we're about to close for the day."

"Oh. Yamamoto-san." She looked at him, then to her watch, "Oh. It's just 8:30, but I can leave now if you want--" her voice trailed off as she flipped the stack of paper back to its first page and started to put it into her bag.

"Well, if you're not in a hurry, Masaki-san," the waiter said as he pulled a chair to sit on, "We might as well talk." He flashed her a grin. Her smile was equally as bright.

"Saa, I didn't know Yamamoto-san owned this place," she said, "I don't get around here so often."

"It's actually my dad's." He replied casually. "What was that you were reading the whole afternoon?" Takeshi was a bit curious about what she was doing for the whole 7 hours in the restaurant.

"Ah, that's the script compilation for Nami-Drama's play at the end of the year." She went on in an animated manner which involved unnecessary sound effects and hand gestures, how it was like editing all the weird inappropriate lines from the stories sent in by the students. The drama club was to pick the best one and use it for the annual theatrical play in Namimori High, which was usually high in budget and high in profit. The conversation then moved to the topic of baseball, since Hana had no clue about how the sport was played, and Takeshi excitedly explained: sound effects and actions included.

The two teens ended up laughing at the random things they were talking about, until Tsuyoshi came out to call his son for dinner. He invited the girl too, since the kids were having such a good time, but she politely declined and went on her way home.

**xxx**

Life went on. The baseball ace and the drama chairman still exchanged emails, though they no longer addressed each other by their surnames alone. From time to time, SMSs were also sent when the conversation got interesting. Every weekend, Hana would go to the Takesushi, eating the same onigiri and drinking the same green tea until the old man would come by and be declined his offer every single time. She said it was because there was "good food and even better service," when the waiter asked her why she went there so often.

But when they were in school, neither spoke even a word. They would only exchange smiles and occasionally wave at each other.

Weird, huh?

**xxx**

"Boss, we've chosen this one!" A girl chirped.

Hana tsk-ed, "Stop calling me boss, Ayu." She took the stack of paper from her vice-chairman's hands and glanced through the pages. "You chose the _Little Mermaid-inspired_ one?!" The script was frantically waved in the air.

"You don't like it?" Ayu asked, indifferent to her boss's outburst. She was used to it anyway, Hana's mock-anger. "Well, it's a parody and a musical. The committee also agreed that the script was well-written and less boring." She hoped that her smile was enough to convince the chairman.

"We're making a parody for this year's show? Can't we go with _Coraline_ instead?"

Ayu pouted, "C'mon~" she pleaded while tugging on her superior's cheek.

Hana whacked the hand away and gave out a sigh, "Okay okay. Auditions start tomorrow. There's _a lot_ of work to do for this musical." She would have to agree that the play's script was good. _Very_ good, rather, as it was funny and witty and had singing and dancing. But were they going to spend so much money on a comedy that's not even original?

The vice-chairman showed her a happy face and was twirling around the drama room in joy.

"Hey, isn't it a good idea to ask that baseball guy who smiles at you to audition?" came another voice, "I bet he'll bring in big bucks," she smirked. This was Yuki, the club treasurer. She may be boring and her voice may be monotone, but she was the key to the club's earnings.

"Yeah yeah yeah! I know him! Isn't that Yamamoto Takeshi?" Ayu sang, with stars in her eyes. "He's so dreamy~"

Hana sweatdropped.

"Ooh, ooh! There's also that Italian transfer student, with the silver hair and the cool demeanor," she tried to imitate Gokudera, "And Hibari-senpai," she swooned. "Can we have them in our play, huh? Huh?" Ayu ran to the boss's desk and tried to convince her with a smile, again.

"No," was the short answer that stabbed Ayu in the heart. Hana had enough reasoning anyway. It wasn't likely that the YamaGoku pair could do any good as far as theatre performance was concerned. She didn't even _want_ to think about how to invite the disciplinary chairman.

"Aww, please please please?" Ayu continued pestering her boss by pinching her cheeks.

"You know, we don't have much men in the club. They've all graduated," the dull voice said, "And I don't think people would be much interested in cross dressing females. That Yamamoto guy has quite a big fanbase too."

"See? Even Yuki-chan says so." Ayu was now patting her boss's head continuously, as if she was a dog. Such actions always made Hana more lenient to what the club wants. They all knew that she was just playing strict with them when it came to things like these.

"Whatever." Hana smiled.

"Yatta!" The vice-chairman proceeded to bounce around the club room as the treasurer was busy poking numbers in her calculator.

The Chairman smiled at how happy her friends were. She would probably have an even bigger smile when the news gets out to the rest of the club and the rest of the school.

**xxx**

"Here Hana-chan." The giddy subordinate handed a piece of paper to Hana, who sat beside her in class. On the paper was a table which had a different class's time table and 'baseball practice' scribbled on it.

"What is this?!" Hana whispered in an angry tone. It was a useless note to be passed to her in class.

"Ya-ma-mo-to." Ayu mouthed, hoping not to be caught by their homeroom teacher.

"_Oh."_ Hana thought to herself, _"It was his timetable, so I can schedule the rehearsals… Ayu, do you stalk this guy??"_

Over lunch and recess, audition posters were already set up. People were crowding over them, and some were hurrying to sign up.

"Hahi!" a dark haired girl pointed to the poster, determined "Haru will definitely sign up! You too right, Tsuna?" She turned to the mafia boss.

Tsuna just smiled sheepishly, "I don't think…"

"Jyuudaime would never do such a stupid thing!" The right hand man defended.

"Yamamoto-san."

Takeshi heard someone call his name. "Yo," he waved. It was Hana. Come to think of it, it was the first time they ever talked in school…

"So, Yamamoto-san, Nami Drama would like to invite you to participate in our upcoming play. You see, we've arranged rehearsals so it wouldn't clash with you baseball practices. Its on—" He couldn't really concentrate on what she was saying, because Hana's politeness that sounded like a telemarketer was amusing him. He never knew she could talk like that. But the girl who was standing behind Hana that kept nodding her head vigorously amused him even more. She was sending him weird vibes that he should agree with whatever Hana was saying.

"So there. I hope you'd put this into consideration." Hana ended her speech. Takeshi looked at her, and she seemed indifferent, unlike the girl behind who was nodding her head even more vigorously.

"Okay." He said, more convinced by the nodding girl that the schedule that Hana had made.

"YES!" Ayu did her victory dance, which included fist pumps and hip thrust. Her boss could just do a face palm, muttering something along the lines of "how can this idiot be my vice-chairman?"

**xxx**

This year, the auditions turned out to be pretty popular among the students. It must be because the dorky guy who played the prince in last year's drama became _really_ popular among the girls after the performance. It was also said to have been a fun experience for last year's crew.

The drama club's head trio sat on the front row of the auditorium as the students showed up on stage, either solo or as a group, to strut their stuff. The other club members were seated behind and others were managing the AV system.

So far, the performances weren't so bad. The people who acted were relatively okay, the dancing was on a moderate level, but the singing turned out to be either really amazing, or so horrible that, in Hana's terms, "could raise the dead."

There were going through the list, and was probably in their 80th student now.

"Yamamoto Takeshi," Hana read from the list, "Go." She couldn't help but smile at him, unlike the stern look that she gave the other participants. Maybe because his smile was just so contagious.

He took out the impromptu script provided by the club. "I'm going to kill you." He just stood there and read in his usual cheery voice. (What a Mafioso…)

The panel of three would have headdesked if it was an appropriate, but it wasn't, so they were left with a deadpan. They were kind of expecting him to take out his baseball bat and say the line in a fashion close to what you see in those Japanese Yakuza movies.

"I think I should have given him the 'I use Pantene Pro-V everyday' script instead." Ayu whispered to the Drama Club boss. Hana just shrugged her friend off, though she'd have to admit that the boy could have done a _whole lot _better with the TV commercial script.

"Uhh…" Ayu was not sure what to say, "Can you sing for us?" She was crossing her fingers on this one, because she really wanted this guy in their show, but she doubted he could perform anything other than a homerun.

Takeshi racked his brains for a song that he could sing. He has been too busy with baseball that he kind of missed out listening to the radio. A song came to memory, one that he sang with Gokudera on one of those Vongola outings, as much to the half-Italian Mafioso's disapproval of them doing so.

"Makezu kirai na wagamama ni OORUWEIZU  
負けず嫌いなわがままにオールウェイズ  
Itsumo furimawasarete korogeta SUNIIKAA sagashite  
いつも振り回されて転げたスニーカー 探して  
Kasa mo sasazu ni tobidashita REINIDE  
傘もささずに　飛び出したレイニィディ  
Ame de kikanai BUREEKI hageshisa masu kaze  
雨で利かないブレーキ　激しさ増す風"

"YOU'RE IN!" The vice-chairman stood up, so happy that she was about to cry. The members at the back thought that Ayu was giving him a standing ovation, so they stood up and clapped too. Well, even if Ayu didn't budge, they might have done so as well. His voice was surprisingly _good_. It had a nice texture, it was deep but not too low. However, a nice voice didn't mean he could sing well. _That_ needed practice. Evreyone loved him anyway.

The baseball idiot stood there, smiling like one, while scratching the back of his head.

Yuki was busily pressing calculator buttons again, the sound of cash registers singing in her mind. The Chairman sat there quietly, flipping to the next page of the list, smiling to herself in the inside.

* * *

**Gah. I admit it. I absolutely suck at this. I try to write long chapters in MS word, but it looks _sooooo short_ over here. *headdesk***

**I changed the title to "Milk Plus Tea" because the plus sign doesn't show up for titles. *sad* Anyway, "Milk Plus Tea" sounds like those non-english (engrish :DD) douijns/stationery. And I like it. /lame/**

**Anyway, just on a random note, I was eating _chicharon_ (deep fried pork skin. I know it sounds gross but its really good. its a Filipino delicacy btw.) and dipping it in vinegar while typing. I'm not sure how bad my room smells right now but whatever. That's the least of my worries at the moment. I worry more about how this thing turns out, so help me by sending in reviews ok? :D ILU. 3 It helps me update fast too!**

**Also, if you have any criticism, flames, blah, story ideas, please send them in. :D I'd like to know how I can improve my plot, writing style, and characterization. :D**

**If there are also things you don't understand, you can ask me too. :D Just send away!**

* * *

Side notes:

**:: Hana and Ayu are classmates, and Yama and the others are in a different class. :D  
:: I know having 80 "auditonees" is a shocking number. :) But I think Namichu is quite big, and the Drama Club is a big shot club (that can rival Hibari and his yankee-hair clones) and they are allowed the luxury of spending so much time and money on a non-academical activity.  
:: If you think this story is boring, well, you haven't seen the awesome part yet. 8D otl  
:: The song used is "Oretachi no Joy" sung by the YamaGoku seiyuus. 3 Its absolutely love. **


	3. Cup 3: Bottlecaps

Cup 3: Bottlecaps

"I didn't know you could sing. Great job in the audition! :D," it showed on the screen of his cellphone. Takeshi smiled.

"It was fun :)," He sent his reply.

* * *

"Hey hey, I got into drama." The baseball player said happily to his friends over lunch at the rooftop.

"Ha! That stupid play?" The half-Italian scoffed at what the boy felt was a great accomplishment. Tsuna, on the other hand, thought otherwise.

"That's great, Yamamoto! I wish I had enough confidence to at least audition. _Maybe Kyoko-chan would be impressed…_" He whispered the last sentence to himself. Gokudera found it shocking that Tsuna thought so highly of the drama club's productions, which he himself thought was a total waste of time. The brunette saw how his friend's mouth was gaping open, eyes popping out, and eyebrows were in right angles. "Maybe Gokudera should try too. The shows they stage get better every year. It's a great," — he was searching for the right word, "investment…?"

* * *

"Heya, welcome to the Nami Drama." Hana tried to sound as casual as possible. She was in the auditorium with her two subordinates, facing a group that was now called the Drama Club. The students clapped and cheered.

The chairman suddenly felt a surge of confidence. She smiled. "Well, this year's production will be a musical, so we'll be collaborating with the dance ensemble, the choir, and the orchestra. Hi guys." She waved, and the students who volunteered from the said performing groups waved back.

"As we all know, this production is not all about performing, and entertaining, and pleasing the audience." She started walking towards the audience seats. "To perform is to make yourself happy too. Perform with your friends, and we all have a fantastic time. So if you came here today, after all that trouble and suspense from auditioning, just to be popular… I suggest you step out of this auditorium now. You might not be getting good roles anyway."

There was an awkward silence. Her tone was foreboding, but on her face was a sweet smile. A few feet shuffled, a few guilty souls walked out of the hall.

"Now since that's done with…," Hana continued on with a rather short carefree pep talk, and distributed copies of the script out to the students. Ayu helped diving the groups: cast, backstage, props, background… and the like.

* * *

"Yamamoto Takeshi," the English teacher called just as the boy swung his bag over his shoulders, ready to leave for baseball practice. Instead, he walked towards the teacher's table, smiling, not at all worried about what the teacher might say. "You English marks are slipping," she said, pointing on a monotone rainbow of red on her record book, "baseball games are coming up, and I have heard that you recently joined the Drama Club. If you don't improve in the next few tests, I will have to ask you to drop one of your extra-curricular activities."

* * *

"Haru-chan is so excited for the play! I can finally put my cosplay skills to good use!" The girl pumped her fists into the air, walking with Tsuna, Kyoko, and Gokudera, leaving school.

The self-proclaimed right-hand man glared at the noisy girl, "Shut up, woman. You aren't supposed to be here. Go back to your old school."

"Humph!" The brunette crossed her arms in annoyance, "No! I will do my all to be with Tsuna-kun, and learn to be the best mafia wife ever!" She was now more enthusiastic, sending the said to-be mafia boss a lovey-dovey look. Tsuna just tried to ignore her. Kyoko just let out a soft giggle.

"To think about it, Yamamoto has been spending a lot of time after school because of the drama club and the baseball team," Tsuna said, slightly concern for his friend.

" That idiot can handle everything," the silver haired boy just waved the topic off. Yamamoto Takeshi was one of those superhuman people who would always be happy and enthusiastic about everything. He was like an endorphin: both to himself and who he was with.

* * *

7:00pm.

Baseball practice had just ended. The baseball idiot had gone to get his English notes, which he had left in class, passing by the school hall on the way out. The hall's lights turned off as he passed, and someone was closing the door shut. It was Hana, supposed closing up after drama practice.

"Oi, Masaki." Takeshi called, tone happy and friendly as usual.

The girl turned around, and smiled.

* * *

"So, you're saying that Takayama-sensei said that your grades better go up, or you'll be forced to quit either baseball or drama?" Hana was confirming what she just heard, and then adjusted her glasses.

"Yep," he replied.

They were walking home.

"Eh, there's a convenience store. I want to go get something."

* * *

Hana bought a bottle of green tea and Takeshi got some milk. They decided to sit on the bench outside the seven-eleven store and rest for a while.

"I can help you with your English, actually. I'm free on Saturdays unless stated otherwise," the girl offered, "but I think you need to see that Italian-transfer student of yours for Maths."

"Eh? Gokudera? How did you know?"

"He's rather popular in my class. He's quite a hit with the ladies," she let out a chuckle, opening her green tea drink. Yamamoto smiled. Gokudera was mostly unaware of it. He usually spent his spare time- if there were any- on Sistema CAI or with his cat. The boy took a swig of his milk.

Hana looked at the inside of her unscrewed metal cap of her bottle. "Here, for you." She passed it to the boy beside her, then taking a sip.

"Impossible is nothing. –Adidas." He read it out loud. It was so nice of that juice company to put quotes in the caps of their drinks.

* * *

The two made a compromise. The drama girl would put the baseball idiot through a crash course in English if he'd spend more time learning his lines. He got the most popular role after all: Prince Charming.

The venue was his house, on Saturdays. Takeshi's father was nice enough to give her free lunch during those tutorial sessions. After two hours of English cramming, the pair would practice on lines or Hana would start fixing up Takeshi's costume.

* * *

"You don't write _I has_, but it's _I have_," Hana underlined the words on Yamamoto's essay that didn't do very well with her lime green marker. "The same goes for _you_."

The poor boy blinked twice, "What?"

* * *

"Unleash her you fiend," Takeshi said, but in the wrong tone. He was still all sing-song-y.

Green marker was tapping on the table.

* * *

"Why do you like to drink milk so much?" Hana asked over a short sushi break. "It doesn't even go well with Japanese food." She, on the other hand, sipped her green tea.

"Maybe that's why you're so short." Yamamoto laughed, earning him a glare. "Why do you like tea so much, then?"

"Because it keeps me awake, and it has this really calming smell."

* * *

The boy's room was filled with post-its that labeled things in both Japanese and English.

Takeshi had "Baka: stupid" post-it stuck on his forehead, while Hana had "Kawaii: Cute" on hers.

* * *

" Do you have any complaints about this body?" Hana was demanding an answer.

Takeshi put his hands up in defense, "No, no it's not that…"

" Humph! Then why don't you do it already?"

" Ehh… it doesn't seem right…"

" Tch.." Then there was the sound heavy bare footsteps and of cloth being rubbed together and being thrown into the air like parachutes.

" Oi, oi… Don't go there… OI. BE GENTLE…"

Tsuyoshi couldn't help eavesdropping anymore. The man slammed the door open, face red as the tuna he had been slicing a few moments ago

Awkward silence filled the air. The boy's hands were both in the air, still in his t-shirt and shorts, with a red cloth draped over his shoulder and a blue one on his torso. The girl was also fully-clothed (cue father's sigh of relief), needle on one hand, and the other holding the blue cloth together.

Unaffected by the bang, Hana continued what she had been doing, "Stop moving. I need the body of your costume done by the end of this week."

* * *

Wooden chopsticks poked on something pink and soft. Poke. Poke.

"How do you _eat_ this?" The English tutor demanded.

"Like this," the student dipped his piece of uncooked fish into a muddy mix of soy sauce and wasabi, and put it into his mouth. Cue dumb smile.

The girl's face twisted into a disgusted look.

* * *

From those days, the two seemed to get to know each other better. How they liked their food cooked, their favorite drinks, and their strengths and weaknesses as a person.

* * *

"Pssst. Takeshi-kun," Haru whispered to a certain baseball idiot while testing out her costume as an apple tree. The boy simply turned to her from sloppily painting a piece of wood blue. "You weren't in our last meeting because of baseball practice. Reborn said that the Vongola should watch out for suspicious people. Another famiglia is out to get us."

"Next time, don't leave me out, okay? I can skip a few practices…"

A certain vice-chairman appeared out of nowhere. "Yamamoto-kun! Can you help me paint this the same blue?" She dragged a thin sheet of wood that was about the same size of a single-size mattress. "Thanks!" then she skipped off to another corner of the room.

"Talk to you later," he told Haru, "Got work." He held up the paintbrush and smiled.

He continued to do the painting job. It was only a flat colour, so whether or not the boy had any artistic talents, the product should be satisfactory. Halfway painting, the bucket he held had already become empty. Takeshi went to get a new can. It was amazing how this club had enough budget to buy so many cans of paint. He popped the metal lid open, to see that the underside of it was also glazed with blue.

_Hana looked at the inside of her unscrewed metal cap of her bottle. "Here, for you." She passed it to the boy beside her, then taking a sip._

The baseball idiot smiled to himself. He was usually the one that gave people encouragement. He never thought that the bottle cap of a drink could make him worry so much lesser than before.

He took the opened can in his hand, on the walk back to his gigantic plank, was stopped by the voice of a certain Mafia-wife-wannabe, "Yamamoto-kun! I just got an sms from Tsuna that—"

At that exact moment the boy had stopped in his tracks and turned towards Haru's direction, he bumped into something—or rather, somebody—in front of him. By the time he turned his head back, he saw Hana, sweater and whatever she was holding, all awash in blue paint. The look on her face could send just about anybody down all six layers of hell.

"Masaki…" It felt like there was a frog in Takeshi's throat.

The apple tree took whatever she could use as a tissue paper (which was apparently, a random rag near wherever she was) and ran to the aid of the club chairman, in the process, frantically screaming incoherent things along the lines of "oh my god," and "I'm so sorry. As the rag touched the blue-coated grey sweater, a rainbow of colours followed, worsening the damage. Haru had no idea that the rag had been used to clean used paintbrushes and hasn't been washed yet.

"Miura." Her voice was like the calm before the storm: foreboding. "You're not from Namimori, right." It was more like a confirmation than a question. With that Haru stepped away, stripped off her tree costume in one corner of the room, and left, unconsciously carrying the rag with her.

* * *

After the students were dismissed, Hana stayed back to clean up whatever little mess was left and to lock the hall up. She took off her grey sweater and used it to wife off any paint on the walls or floor. She wouldn't want the Drama Club to get in the Disciplinary Committee's bad side. She noticed that there was a lot of blue…

Yamamoto didn't leave yet. He felt rather guilty for spilling paint on her, and the floor as well. He tried to help, moving back certain pieces of furniture in the hall.

The air was undeniably tense, as the girl did not talk at all. The boy did not know how to start.

By the time she was locking up, she asked in the most monotonous voice, "Why are you still here?"

"Shouldn't leave a girl like you all alone, especially at this time of the night," he flashed her one of his warmest smiles. She couldn't help but smile a bit, no matter how much she wanted to fight it. A blush was creeping up her cheeks as well.

On the walk home, the duo stopped at the seven-eleven store that they always passed by. They got the usual, milk and green tea.

"Ahh," Hana gave out a relieved sigh after a sip of tea, "I feel so much better now."

"I said I was sorry," guilt was still bugging Yamamoto. Wasn't his apology enough? Did she still need tea to calm her down and make her happy.

"Its not you," she replied. A shiver went down her spine as the cold wind blew at their direction. The baseball idiot didn't fail to notice this. It was because she threw the now-technicolor-used-to-be-grey-Namimori-sweater into the trash bin, and the rainy season was coming soon.

Yamamoto put his milk aside, and stripped his own sweater off. "Here," he draped it over Hana's shoulders. "I kind of owe you," he ended off with an unsure chuckle.

Hana denied it, saying that there was no need to, pushing it back to the boy beside her. As if on cue, another cool breeze blew, that sent her shivering. Takeshi took her bottle of tea from her, and told her to wear the sweater or she wouldn't see her green tea again. Not like she had a choice now…

Obviously, the baseball player was a few sizes larger than the girl. The sleeves were even long enough to hide her fingers from the cold.

"Thanks. But won't you be cold?" Hana asked, now holding on to her tea after its kidnap.

"I can handle it," he replied with his trademark grin.

The girl decided to focus her attention to something more interesting, like her drink, before her face would turn pink. "Oh yah, midterms are next week," the change of topic was called for.

"I… I can handle it."

* * *

**Hey guys. Its me again. :)**

After what seemed like eternity, yes, another chapter is here.  
Gee, how long has it been since the last update? D":

**Anyway, I do appreciate all the faves and alerts.  
Gives me a sense of being loved. ish. :I**

**But 2 reviews? C'mon guys. you can do better than that...? :D  
Please review. ;_; *begs* lol.**

**Critique will be much appreciated. :D  
**


	4. Cup 4: TV static

Cup 4: TV Static

"Yes! We're at the last act!" Hana raised her fists into the air.

"Yoshaaa!" Yamamoto acted like he just hit a homerun.

_Boys and girls be ambitious  
Boys and girls keep it real~_

Hana took out her cellphone and answered, "Hello? Yeah… Hmm… Okay…. Hnnn…." Her head just kept on nodding, as if the person talking to her was in the same room.

"EH? OI, AYU. WE CAN'T DO THAT!" Yamamoto involuntarily flinched at his coach's sudden outburst. "But we already have all the lines out. BGM's also done. Costumes and props have already started…. FINE." _Beep._ The yellow phone flipped shut. Cue distressed sigh.

The baseball idiot shot her a "what's wrong?" look.

"The drama club started getting a lot of hate mail these days. They're mostly anonymous, but we believe they're from the student body. They don't want Little Mermaid. They want Snow White. Or at least the poisoned apple scene." Her eyes were focused on her colorful sneakers, that were probably hand-painted by herself. "They've said really mean things. Ayu handles them. She said I wouldn't be able to handle the stress after she saw my reaction with the first one." Her fingers played on her favorite green marker as she gave out a nervous chuckle. "And I thought I could do better than last year's Kanra-senpai." Takeshi couldn't really see her face very well, but there was a slight crack on her voice.

"Mind if we go out for a short break?" Hana suggested. She needed some fresh air.

Yamamoto just gave her a reassuring smile. She stood up first, and he followed, ruffling her hair as they exited his room. It was funny, because when they stood close together, the only thing Takeshi could see was the top of her head. It was probably the same height as his shoulder. It was easier to ruffle her hair that way, than to pat her back.

The two ventured out to the open. It was a sunny Saturday morning, but the rainy weather was near, so it was slightly cold. Both went out with long-sleeved clothes, but only Takeshi had a scarf. "Where's your's?" He gestured at the blue cloth wrapped around his neck.

"Oh. It's at home. I overslept this morning, and rushed to your place." She said, followed by the same sad laugh she had before.

They walked for a bit, in a random direction. No one was leading, they were just alongside each other. Maybe the cold weather would help Hana calm down and cool off, Yamamoto thought.

"Ne, Yamamoto. There's this place I discovered a few days ago. The drinks are great. Can we go there?" The girl's voice lacked the enthusiasm that it used to have.

He smiled, hoping it would comfort her, "Sure." He had never really seen her like this before. She was happy, angry, strict, loud… but never this void of emotion.

_Lollidela's _was in bright pink cursive letters on top of a glass door. It was a dessert parlor. He followed his friend in, into the pink-filled room. It was rather big spacious or a place that only served sweets. There were people scattered around, but it wasn't crowded. It was a bit too pink and princess for Yamamoto, but not that it really bothered him. It was an interesting place. He just hoped that it would cheep Hana up.

"I figured that since you liked milk so much, you might want to give milk tea a try." She said.

"Milk tea?"

She looked at him, a tiny bit incredulous, "Yeah. Milk tea. Milk and tea." Her hands made a gesture of pouring liquids together and stirring them. Maybe the pink did make her happy.

They took a table near the glass window and ordered two pearl milk teas. Takeshi had the urge to ask her again about the play, but he didn't want to see her like how she was in his room again. But he was really curious of what would happen to the play, and more importantly, his role. All those Saturdays memorizing and practicing… All those school days that he had stayed back painting blue boards… but not that it really bothered him. It bothered him slightly more than the pink in the room, but he just wanted to know.

Two glasses arrived at their table shortly.

"Mmm. This is really good!" Takeshi exclaimed. He hadn't tasted anything much like it before. It was sweet, creamy, yet it still tasted like tea.

Hana's reply came in the form of a smile. She happily sipped on her own glass of milk tea. 'This place is actually the franchise of a Taiwanese milk tea shop. It should be good." She started to smile.

"Taiwan?"

"Un." She nodded, using her straw to poke on the black pearls at the bottom of the glass, "The best milk tea in the world is from there."

"You've been there?"

"Yep! Its really nice and…" she went on and on about her favorite vacation place, from the clothes, food, drinks, to the architecture and the beaches, and uttering some Chinese words from time to time. Takeshi wasn't completely interested in what she was saying, and there were some things that he didn't really catch, but he was glad Hana was back.

As the talk and laughter died down, Hana muttered, "I guess we need to get back to reality." The cloud of depression loomed over her again, "what do you think? Should we still change the story? The only one who'd gone so far til the last act is only yourself, because of the size of the role… and because it was bargained with for English lessons." A smile involuntarily tugged on her lips. It was fun being his tutor too, not because of the free sushi and green tea every weekend, but because Takeshi proved to be great company, regardless of his brain's learning capacity.

"What about the other cast members?" Yamamoto thought. The princess role was big, too. So were the other singing people. And all that blue boards he had painted…

It was as if Hana had read his mind, "I'm not entirely sure about our mermaid. Ayu's in charge of her. There shouldn't be much of a problem, since we're only adding scenes, and changing the last act—which we haven't even started with yet—and we wouldn't really need to change props too, come to think of it. We just insert the apple." She finished off with a shrug.

Yamamoto gave a hearty chuckle, "well, I guess you answered your own question then. I'm cool with it."

The yellow cellphone was flipped open. Speed dial. "Yah. Ayu. Ask the scriptwriters to add in whatever the people demand. Though ask them to make it very minimal, unless it's a _really_ good idea…" The president continued to instruct her subordinate in a structured manner. The prince could see that this show really meant a lot to the drama club, and to Hana. He must really do his best.

The call ended off with a, "yah yah yah. On my table by Wednesday. Thanks Ayu." Cue relieved sigh. "Thanks Yamamoto-san"

Takeshi was slightly confused, but he smiled anyway. She didn't need to thank him for anything…

The two weeks went by fast. On several afternoons, the Takesushi found Masaki Hana a regular customer. She was busy scrawling green lines on sheets of A4 paper. The new script, Takeshi presumed.

"It's getting late, Masaki. It's starting to rain, too." Takeshi said while clearing up the empty plate on Hana's table, "maybe you should go home." He was concerned if a girl were to be going home this late in the night.

"Are you shooing me away?" Was her retort, face all serious, complete with knit eyebrows and lips that resembled a straight line.

"Aa… Masaki-san.. No—not really," The idiot started smiling nervously, and scratched the back of his head, "If you want to stay, you can... Er.. Aa—" He kept that last part to himself, though.

"Just kidding," she gave a cheeky grin, "you need to get acting better, like that, okay?" Hana turned back to her papers. Takeshi inwardly gave a relieved sigh. "Just a bit longer. I don't want to do all this work with my annoying brother in the house."

Ah, so that's why. The presence a rambunctious male sibling in the Masaki household was probably the reason behind her visits to the Takesushi. The baseball player returned to the kitchen with the dirty dishes.

"Oi, Son, that girl's been coming very often, huh?" Tsuyoshi asked, standing from the sink.

The dirty dishes were unloaded, and neatly piled on to the existing ones. "Yeah. She works really hard." Takeshi used a rag to clean the tray, "She's really nice too." Cue idiotic smile.

"Soooo?" The father was definitely trying to pry something from his son. Takeshi shot back with a confused look on his face.

"Aa, nevermind," Tsuyoshi redirected his attention to annihilating dirt with soap suds. "Just when I thought you were old enough already…" he whispered to himself.

A few green checks later, rain began to pour. No it wasn't drizzling or pitter-pattering. It was _pouring_.

Hana had been offered to go inside the house, due to the weather. She just sat quietly in the living room, waiting for the rain to stop. It was a Friday night. Nothing was on. Hana didn't follow any soaps, and there was hardly any homework.

"Uhm.. Ah… Hai, hai…." The yellow phone flipped close. "There was a blocked road near my house due to the flooding. Otou-san can't fetch me." Hana announced in a soft, hushed tone.

"Aa…," Takeshi didn't really know how to sympathize with her. She could stay, it wasn't a big deal really.

"You could stay for the night. Just tell your folks, its okay," Tsuyoshi piped in. "There's a spare futon upstairs. You can take Takeshi's bed." Then he started giving his son a set orders consisting of cleaning up and arranging things.

Hana wanted to refuse, as a polite gesture, but she couldn't do anything else with the current situation, really. She just gave a nod and flipped open her cellphone.

"Yamamoto-san, thank you so, so much. I'm afraid I've been very troublesome to your family tonight," Hana gave a 90-degree bow to the old man.

"Oh no, no, no." Tsuyoshi waved his hand and urged her to stand back up, "It's only the two of us, and it's too quiet around here anyways." He smiled. Maybe his son could get a girlfriend after all. He was quite worried of Takeshi. The boy was only interested in baseball, and kendo. And the game he was always playing with his friends, Tsuna and Gokudera. And that was about it. His son was nice, tall, fit, and not to mention good-looking. He did take home lots of chocolates on that certain day of the year… what was it? It was something Tsuyoshi has never participated in.

Anyways, he would silently plot, since Takeshi wouldn't do it himself. Masaki seemed nice too. Her pink hair was a bit eccentric, but she had a rather pretty face, and she seemed nice. Anyone who would dare to teach Takeshi English was definitely nice.

"Masaki-san?" Takeshi peeked into his room. True enough, Hana was just there, sitting on the edge of his bed. He went in and rummaged into his closet. The girl looked at him curiously.

"You can change into this for tonight. They shouldn't be too big…" He handed her a shirt and a pair of track pants, "I'll be taking a shower first, feel free to look around and stuff." It was somewhat weird that Masaki was just sitting there. He dismissed that thought and took a shower.

Hana re-entered Takeshi's room after bathing. The pants were rolled up to her calves, and the sleeves of the shirt was reaching her elbows. A fluffy towel sat atop her head.

Takeshi grinned, "Sorry, they were still too big."

"Haha," Hana chuckled while drying her hair off, "I can't expect your clothes to be my size. I'm a head shorter than you!" If they both stood up, Yamamoto could easily rest his arm on her head.

"So, whats this?" Hana pointed at the baseballs lined up on his dresser.

"My homerun balls. You can touch them." The look on her face was screaming _MUST TOUCH_. Her hands gingerly grabbed on to a baseball, the first one, inspecting it. Her fingers were gentle and careful, as not to upset the stitches or the white leather. "This was from my first game, back in primary school…" Stories went on and one, from one ball to another. They were replaced back on the shelf once the story was told, and another was taken, story waiting to be heard.

In the midst of the re-enactment of the 5th baseball's game, a bright light flashed across the room, and a loud clap of thunder soon followed after it.

A slightly dirtied white ball fell on the floor with a _thud_.

The small frame hidden under the loose T-shirt went stiff, eyes unblinking, mouth dry.

On the second ensemble of the thunder and lightning, the girl's knees grew weak, and her body fell on the floor with a louder thud. Her hands automatically flew to her ears, and her eyes shut.

"Oi. Oi. Masaki… Masaki?" Takeshi knelt down to see if she was okay. He was definitely puzzled with her actions. She just kept shaking her head. Her ears covered and eyes still closed. She couldn't comprehend with what the boy was saying, or what was going on. Her mind was just TV static.

"…Hey…" He wrapped an arm around her back, to support her, and his other hand was stoking her damp hair, to comfort her.

Another boom of thunder echoed throughout the room.

Small hands immediately grabbed on to what was closest to her –Takeshi's shirt—and pulled herself close towards it.

"_I-I'm… afraid…"_

**Oh my. I was absent for a looong time. Sorry guys, I let you down. ****  
I didn't even make a Christmas special… *SHAME***

**Random things I would like to explain:  
* They are still addressing each other with their surnames. Why? Because the relationship is totally platonic. No one sees the other as a potential partner, etc. They are just friends. It also doesn't help that Hana isn't completely girly, effeminate, and sophisticated like Kyoko. She was like that in the beginning, but her playful side shows, with the "baka" post-it during English lessons. It's somewhat like Yamamoto and Gokudera's relationship, if you will. (the canon, non-yaoi one, of course!)**

***Hana was being quiet because she was a "guest." Some kind of politeness, because she didn't want to come off as whiny and annoying to the Yamamoto household, so she opted to close her mouth instead. It also foreshadows that there would be thunder and lightning, which is is (duh you figured it out) afraid of, and hence such an ending. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! :D  
please excuse the lack of a beta**


	5. Cup 5: Code Red

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long hiatus~ I've been traveling and going here and there ksdjlaksjf SO HERE'S A LONG UPDATE!**

**(edit 12/31/2011: sorry there were some grammatical and typographical errors that I attended to~)  
**

* * *

Cup 5:

Due to the nature of his work, the calm and composed Rain guardian's eyes has already been desensitized to the violent color— red—sometimes staining his white shirts, other times on his hands while they grip the hilt of his katana. But most of the time, it's the color of his partner in crime's, the Storm guardian's, shirt.

Though, sometimes red still comes as a shock.

"27%."

"Coach, I-I..."

"Takeshi," the cap-wearing middle-aged man sighed his name out, "the school won't even let you go on friendly matches with grades like this." The A4 sheet of paper was crumpled at the coach's grip and the fist was waved angrily on the boy's face. "I'm doing what I can. The team can't go without the star player—"

At least he was still MVP in the coach's eyes.

"—but I said that you'd at least pass with a 50% mark." Another sigh. "I know your baseball training is taking up a lot of time and so is _that_ drama _thing_. I need you to buck up in your studies a bit. For the team. For _me_." Almost pleading. Almost.

"I've never really been good at History…" Takeshi scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Do something—" the coach took his Namimori cap off, "—I know you want to play and I can only do this much. Ask your friends. _That_ drama club _girl_'s been getting awards for her _literary_ work, and I heard from colleagues that the Italian transfer student's a bright kid." He pushed the piece of paper into the boy's hands and put the cap on his head. "Return this to me if you score well enough for the friendly match in two weeks."

* * *

"Oi, Yankyuu-baka," Gokudera smacked the back of Yamamoto's head. The baseball player's head remained on the table, merely turned to the other side. "Eh. Why so glum?"

"Yeah, Yamamoto," Tsuna piped in, "you're not yourself today."

The boy lifted his head off the table for a bit, "I got a scolding from coach this morning," and it went back.

"I'm still the last rank in class, so it's okay, hahahha…" Tsuna pat his friend's back to comfort him.

The right-hand-man instincts came on, "D-don't lower yourself down for this insignificant fool! Jyuudaime! I-I know you are doing this on purpose to save this _baka_'s arse!"

"Aa—n-no such thing! " Tsuna waved his hands in defense, "Yamamoto-kun can really do a lot better!"

"Jyuudaime!—"

"Ara—"

"He's right. I can't do this."

A high-powered fist made its way to punch the baseball player, carrying the steam of Gokudera's fury with it. "I can't stand spineless idiots like you. And you call yourself Vongola." The words were said through a cigarette between gritted teeth. "On Saturdays, I'm going to tutor you to keep Jyuudaime's honor."

But weren't his Saturdays—

-Hana's?

"Where are you from, the Mafia? What _Jyuudaime_..." the voice came from a girl who sauntered into the classroom that isn't hers. Hana was holding on to a bottle of green tea.

"Tch," the Italian faced the intruder, "what are you even doing here." It sounded more like a "Get lost" rather than a question.

The thick-framed glasses were pushed into place, "I heard that this guy," she pointed at the mass of raven hair, "would be suspended from all sorts of extra-curricular activities because of red marks."

"Irrelevant."

"_Gaijin_, we could make this work. You've had a nice ranking since you came and I've been topping English and Japanese Literature every year." She took a sip of tea.

The Italian raised a silver eyebrow at the nickname and the proposition.

"Saturdays at Lollidela's." Hana flipped her pink hair in a way Justin Bieber would whip his hair back and forth.

Gokudera offered a small smirk, "You're on."

A weak moan came from the table. "Don't I have a say in this?" Takeshi pouted.

"No, not really, nah," Hana shook her head.

"Aa, Masaki-san, I thought Saturdays were for Drama?" Tsuna inquired. Gokudera looked at the woman with eyebrows raised at the loophole of their newly arranged tutoring schedule.

Hana replied, "No point practicing if our prince can't perform. Ayu's handling the script and we changed into Snow White due to _overwhelming demand_," that last part had some anger in it.

It struck Takeshi, "The script changed..?"

All that rehearsing… All those days…

"Yes, that's why I'm in a bad mood," Hana left the cap of her drink on the corner of Yamamoto's desk and left the classroom.

"_Never say die."_

Xxx

The lights in the classrooms were going out one by one as the hours got later and later. Takeshi still went for baseball practice even when his chances of staying in the team was dwindling.

"Takeshi-kun!" The boy was keeping his things in the locker as the feminine voice called, stopping him. "I heard from Coach!"

It was Alice, the team manager. Her hair was legit blonde and she had volunteered herself to help the coach manage the baseball team since she graduated from Namimori. It wasn't too long ago.

Somehow, it wasn't everyday a girl would show up in the baseball locker rooms. It wasn't necessarily a _bad_ thing, considering the number of _hentai_ videos that were filmed with this kind of setting. Though, it was definitely a surprise.

"Oh. Senpai," Takeshi greeted after recovering from the initial shock, then went back to packing up, "Aa..hai." He hesitated replying.

"I could help you in _English_ though," her enunciation of the word "English" was with an American accent. Well, she was born and raised from that hemisphere anyways.

The locker was closed, "Thanks, but my friends are already helping me out with that," the MVP declined with a toothy grin.

"_Nonsense,_" she said, again in English, "some more help can't hurt, _right?_" She walked further into the room.

"It's okay, no need to—"

"It's _fine_, Takeshi-kun. I'll meet you at this pink café not too far from here. Sunday, okay? _Be there~_" With that, she happily skipped out of the room, leaving the boy no time to turn the offer down.

A sigh escaped the boy's throat. "And I wanted to play video games this weekend," he mumbled to himself in defeat and rested his head against the lockers with a _klang._ He slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way out.

Takeshi found himself strolling past the Drama club room, probably out of habit, since he's been doing so after baseball practice for the past few weeks. Oddly, the lights were still on and shuffling sounds were audible. Inviting himself in, he opened the door to see something not unfamiliar—the drama president cleaning up and putting things in place before locking up.

"You're alone _again?_" Seriously, that girl should take a break.

A squeak escaped Hana, startled by her visitor. Calming down, "No biggie," she said, "that's what club presidents are for." She continued putting sheets of cardboard that were cut out into shapes of trees to one side of the room. Having a petite physique, she was having difficulty doing so.

On stage or not, Takeshi had the habit of playing the princely part in most situations. He'd feed stray cats milk, take a scolding from the coach for the team, wait tables for his dad, and of course he'd take a blow for his_ famiglia_.

* * *

"Thanks for helping my clear the things. You really shouldn't be! I mean, with your baseball matches and—"

"It's all good!" Takeshi butted in.

Hana smiled and looked _up_ at him, as he was really a lot taller. "Can we drop by the _konbini_, I want to buy a drink…" She didn't really wait for a reply. Takeshi was always nice enough to accompany her to the convenience store near school on late nights.

The baseball idiot waited near the bicycle stands while the drama president was in the store.

"_Ping-pong!" _the store doors sounded when they automatically opened to let the girl exit.

"Na, for helping me clean up today," she passed the taller boy a cold bottle of milk. She then opened her bottled tea to drink.

Speaking of tea, Takeshi realized that Hana liked tea. A lot. Every time they'd drop by the convenience store on late school nights, Hana would only buy bottled green tea.

"Why?" Yamamoto asked curiously.

Hana turned, "Mm? Why what?"

"Why do you always drink green tea?"

"Why do you always drink milk?"

"Because I like it."

Hana pointed a finger at him, "There's your answer!" she giggled in her own childish way, and a chuckle escaped Takeshi. It was just an odd question and they were both so tired that random things started becoming funny.

"Actually, it's my source of caffeine. Some people have coffee, others sodas or beer or red bull. Mine's tea.

I've been running really low on sleep ever since we've had problems with the script. Ayu's doing most og the work now but—" she gave a sigh, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

"I think you should get some rest. You haven't been looking too well these days…" Yamamoto commented. Whenever he saw her in the school halls, her brows were either furrowed together, or she was wearing a scowl. Her skin has gotten paler. The thick frames of her glasses usually hid her eyes from the world, but now standing at such a close proximity, tired panda eyes were showing.

Hana waved a hand at him, "Nah, I can do it." She said rather confidently.

With a cool gust of the night breeze that blew past them, the girl immediately sneezed.

"See. Take care of yourself," he ruffled her magenta hair. "I don't want to fail anymore!" Takeshi said in a desperate voice. His grin was contagious; she smiled as well.

* * *

**Some word clarifications:**  
Gaijin: literally translated as "outsider", non-Japanese, foreigner  
Konbini: convenience store

Hi again! Really sorry for the snail-pace update, but (GOOD NEWS!) I've recently thought of more exciting(?) things that would happen. Everything's still quite bland now. :( Keep on the look out for some drama, and if I can write it well, action! There will definitely be more character and relationship development, though quite slow...

Thanks to the people who still keep on reading despite the hiatus every now and then. :) Also for those who review! Can we reach 30 before the next update? :D

I thought of adding a "ask Hana" bit, part of the author's notes, much like Haru's (spastic) interviews at the end of each episode. Just maybe some readers are interested in asking some questions, or even short messages will do! And I'll get her to answer them. :) Just indicate it in a review.

Happy New Year!


	6. Cup 6: Teapartying

Oh hey there! Sorry this update took forever but here it is!

* * *

**Cup 6: Teapartying**

_Biri biri. Biri biri._

On the desk a yellow mobile phone buzzed.

_One New Message!_

"Eh?"

Hana reached out from her bed to grab the noisy, vibrating device.

"_You didn't say what time tomorrow," _it read, but the sender's number was not registered.

"Tomorrow?" The girl racked her brains, guessing the mystery sender's identity. "Well, it's a Saturday," she closed the science textbook she had been reading and kept on thinking-

_Hmm- _Thinking-

"Oh! It must be Gokudera-san," since Takeshi's number was already in her phone's memory.

_Masaki: After lunch, then Lollidela's? :/  
Gokudera: Sounds good. 1pm? And how'd you guess  
Masaki: Well who else would it be. Tell Yamamoto-san for me ok. You got my number from him?  
Gokudera: Yah. What are you bringing?  
Masaki: To? :O  
Gokudera: Tutor that idiot, you stupid woman  
Masaki: Hey I beat you in lit and English. Taking offence at adjective. D: English and lit books. The test's on chapter 5 and the entire lit text right?  
Gokudera: Shouldn't you know that better?  
Masaki: Bah. What you bringing?  
Gakudera: Math and science handouts.  
Masaki: Mmm. See .:')  
Gokudera: See you_

He seemed like an amusing person. She often saw him around Yamamoto, but she had never talked to him or anything—

Until recently.

He'd been popular with the ladies the minute he arrived in Namimori: platinum hair, boyish looks, bad-boy attitude, mafia swag, and half-Italian to boot. He and Takeshi were the most popular targets during Valentine's. (The disciplinary chairman would be, too, if he weren't so scary.) The major turn-off though, was his odd naming sense. (Jyuudaime? Come on-)

Hana thought that his pets' names would he hilarious, if he'd ever have any.

* * *

_Hana: We're here! U_

Takeshi peered into the all too familiar milk tea shop, looking through the glass door. No doubt his friends were both punctual, already occupying couched seats around a coffee table. Oddly they seemed to match: both had a pair of glasses on their noses and their hair tied back.

The pink-haired girl raised her hand to wave at the tall boy once he came into periphery, and gestured him to sit by them.

It was a cozy little pink space.

"So this is for you," Hana took out a stack of paper that was stapled together and set it atop Takeshi's side of the table, "It's a compilation on all the tested chapters for Japanese Literature." And another stack followed, "English worksheets."

The boy just smiled nervously at the amount of studying he needed to do. This wasn't what he had signed up for. Nope, he didn't remember signing up at all.

Gokudera was just there, quiet and reading the Literature text. He was always like that when they studied together, Takeshi and him. You should just learn how to ask.

Hana on the other hand, looked different. Most of her hair was pinned away from her face and the rest was up in a ponytail. Well, at least more of her face could be seen. She pulled her cup close to take a sip of her bubble tea, which reminded her, "Ah, Yamamoto-san. You might want to get a drink too."

"Aa—alright," he said as he stood up.

He stared at the menu, deciding on a drink. There were just too many choices! _Bubble Green Tea, Sakura Sencha, Caramel Milk Tea, Jasmine Milk Tea…_

"Hello, may I help you?" The redhead barista chirped while Takeshi was drowning in indecisiveness. He supposed that he should have asked the other two what they've gotten.

He smiled and stuttered a bit, then asked something he's learned from waiting tables these past few years, "What do you recommend?"

"Well, our best-selling is the _Lollidela Bubble Milk Tea_, but a personal favorite would be the _Ice Cream Milk Tea!"_ the freckled teenager seemed rather enthusiastic about his job.

Since Takeshi had wanted to try something new, he'd picked the latter. After getting his drink, he proceeded to go back to their table, where Hana had been bugging Gokudera with what seemed like a maths question.

She looked up and Takeshi's drink caught her attention, "Eh? Looks good! What did you get?"

"Ice Cream Milk Tea!" he said with a passion, quite satisfied with his purchase. He poked the straw through the plastic cap and took a sip. Apparently, it was tea with ice cream as a substitute for milk. He did miss his milk, but it was cold, sweet, and creamy, and decided that it was pretty good. "Do you want to try?" he held the drink forward, seeing the girl's curious face.

She was about to take it until the other boy gave her a nudge. "Woman are you listening?" he asked with an irritated look on his face. "Seriously," he sighed.

Hana immediately turned back to her math tutor, leaving Takeshi's offer hanging for the time being. The drink was placed on the table to join the rest, and he started looking through the notes.

"Eh? But I don't understand. What's the difference between log, ln, and lg?"

Cue frustrated Gokudera sigh, "Basically, lg is log to the base 10, then ln is to the base _e_, so if you put this here—" the silver-haired boy started writing notes down her paper as Hana nodded at each point.

After the whole math discussion, Hana motioned over to take Takeshi's offer, but her hand stopped a few centimeters short of his drink, waiting for approval, face looking at him, hopeful.

Takeshi gave a short chuckle and a nod.

"Oh, this is really good," Hana declared loud enough that Gokudera was pulled away from his notes, and now curious.

Yamamoto was beaming, happy that his purchase made his friend happy. "What did you guys get, anyways?"

"Oh, I got the Macadamia Milk Tea with bubbles," Hana replied.

"Sakura Sencha," said the other.

"You've got to try this," Hana pushed the drink towards Gokudera's way, who took a sip.

"Bah," he stuck his tongue out as the sweetness made his mouth feel dry. He immediately took a long sip of his own drink to quench the sudden thirst. "How do you idiots even drink something so sweet?"

Hana chuckled at the comment, "Hey, you're actually the odd one out here! Don't call us idiots, alright? How good is yours anyway?"

"Better than his, definitely!"

The started exchanging drinks and ranked them from best to worst, although Hana and Takeshi were ganging up on the one with a slightly different taste. They had a moments of laughter that would alternate with those quieter ones when they would just study or ask each other short questions. Or—

The girl started giggling as she read through Takeshi's English essay.

"What's wrong?" the boy asked in utter confusion, not knowing what was wrong with his work. It seemed totally fine to him, what he'd written.

Gokudera peered from where he was sitting, and Hana leaned over to show him the error. The boy smirked and just went back to his work.

Takeshi had furrowed brows at this point. He didn't intend the essay to be a comedy…

"Come," she said as she leaned closer to the baseball player, who also leaned forward, "it's not _whipping_ cream, but _whipped_ cream. I mean, the cream isn't really whipping anyone right? Neither is it being whipped at the moment." She explained.

"Ne, but when you spray it out of the can, isn't that _whipping_?" Takeshi asked, with his hand spraying invisible whipped cream.

"No, no, no. That's _spraying_ not _whipping_. Whip is when you actually do this," she motioned with her left arm grabbing an imaginary bowl, and her right as if beating eggs.

"Oh! I get it, I get it."

Hana moved down the paper, "Also, there's this…" and she went on explaining certain use of words.

"Hey, if your dad still cooks this black spaghetti thing, I'd like to try it," Hana said, after reading Takeshi's short essay on food.

"No, you _do not_ want to try it," Gokudera beat Yamamoto to a reply. Hana simply raised an eyebrow, inquisitive.

Takeshi turned to his friend, "Oh come on, it's not _that_ bad."

"Oh no, it _is that bad._" The friend retorted.

Hana was confused, "But itsn't that the squid ink pasta that I always hear about?"

"It is _nothing_ like it." Gokudera was starting to look a little green, if not purple, from the memories.

"Regardless of anyone's opinion I'd like to try squid ink pasta for the very first time, thank you."

A low chuckle came from Gokudera, "It gives the dish a bad first impression." He just shook his head.

Hana turned to Takeshi, "I'll have to trouble your dad, then," she looked into his eyes for a sign of approval.

"Yeah, sure thing!" He replied enthusiastically, "Eh, Gokudera, do you want to come?"

The half-Italian gave a slightly contorted face, "I'll pass on the pasta," he waved the offer off.

"But there'll be something else," the baseballer added, "and maybe we can ask Tsuna over, too!"

By the mention of the mafia boss—

"I'll protect Tenth from any of the poisonous food you will try to server him!"

"Oh come on, my dad's no Bianchi."

The boy paled at the mention of his sister and her cooking.

Hana wasn't too sure about what her friends were talking about, but she was amused and decided not to ask. She just smiled to herself and continued doing more math questions while looking forward to the dinner of an undecided date.

* * *

"Achoo!" The girl sneezed, and checked her worksheet if anything flew from her face.

"Aa, bless you," Gokudera regarded.

She merely smiled and went back to her revision.

Takeshi looked over from his newly acquired notes, "You really should take care of yourself you know…"

"It's okay, I'm tough and strong!" Hana made a gesture to flex her imaginary biceps. Then the act was undermined with another sneeze.

"Up close your eyebags are huge," Gokudera pointed below his eyes, "You should get more sleep."

The girl brought her fingers up to her face, under her glasses, to cover up the panda circles, "what do you know about dark circles," she lips pursed, irritated.

"Everyone knows you get them when you don't sleep."

"Then does your silver hair mean that you're an ossan?" The girl pointed at his head, "Everyone knows gray hair means you're old!"

Takeshi chuckled, "Na, she does have a point there."

"Masaki-1; Gokudera-0," Hana said, putting up a finger on her left hand, and a fist on her right. She giggled and looked at her watch, "Aa! It's already six," She started gathering her things on the table and was shoving them in her bag, "I told Kaa-san I'd be back for dinner! Sorry guys!"

The two replied that it was alright, as Hana was fidgety in her hurriedness. Yamamoto wanted to return the notes she'd given him, but she declined, saying they were only copies so he could have them. She said her goodbyes before buying some drinks to take home, and waved again through the clear glass of the pink café before she headed for the train station home.

"Hey, did you get Tsuna's message?" Gokudera asked his companion, looking up from his glasses.

"Yep," Takeshi replied, simultaneously taking his mobile phone out to check the SMS again.

_From: Boss (Sawada Tsunayoshi)  
Time: 4:45pm_

_Sorry its last minute  
Reborn's calling a meeting tonight  
Someone's after the Vongola again_

_Come by at around 7  
Mom's making dinner_

* * *

__Comments, etc please! Also I'd like to specially mention this particular Anon who reviewed Cup 4. It was totally constructive and it was what I read to get myself to kick myself in the butt and get my ass working.

In other news, I also have exams coming up! (cue sob cry) And I must study really hard for it ugh to make my mama and papa proud! Don't make me regret updating! :)

Also, 23 reviews! O: Thanks guys! /blows out kisses


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